1.) I have my thoroughbred gelding that is pretty much good at everything I swear but I want to teach him to rear on command. I mean its a long shot I swear it would be soo cool if he could learn that. If anybody has any info on how I would start that then let me know because I would love to teach him!

2.) I have a 9 year old paint and he's REALLY overweight. I don't know if this is the area to post this BUT I really want him to be down in weight. He's like probably 1300-1400 lbs and he's like only 15hh :S and its hard to ride him bareback now and I don't know if we should turn him in a pen by himself and feed him ourselves but I don't want to take him for long rides because he sweats to much and where I am, by the time night comes it gets pretty cold, like almost -5 sometimes and I don't want him sick :( so any advice would be appreciated!

1) I'd really give up this idea unless you are VERY experienced and into trick training. It's dangerous in 1st place, and if you decide to sell him down the road not too many people (not to say noone) want the horse, which knows how to rear.

2) Cut off the food. No grain to start with. If he's on pasture put a grazing muzzle on. If on hay - no alfalfa, go with normal hay (like timothy, orchard, etc. depending on what is typical for your area). BTW, "Health" section could be more appropriate - you'd get more advices. Also I remember similar thread there as well - you may want to search for it.

I agree, rearing is very dangerous. Rearing is said to be more dangerous than bucking. Some trainers have told me that you should never intentially teach your horse to rear. I would think that since you taught him that, sometimes he might try and use it as an excuse to do something, or to get out of doing something. But I know one thing, I wouldn't want a rearing horse.

Can't really tell much on the weight thing, you have gotten some good advice =)

There was a thread awhile ago about a girl who thought her horse to rear on command and once she thought him she coulodnt stop it he wanted treats so reared and reared on her. I would look at more constructive training I highly doubt your horse knows everything.

1.) I have my thoroughbred gelding that is pretty much good at everything I swear but I want to teach him to rear on command. I mean its a long shot I swear it would be soo cool if he could learn that. If anybody has any info on how I would start that then let me know because I would love to teach him!

2.) I have a 9 year old paint and he's REALLY overweight. I don't know if this is the area to post this BUT I really want him to be down in weight. He's like probably 1300-1400 lbs and he's like only 15hh :S and its hard to ride him bareback now and I don't know if we should turn him in a pen by himself and feed him ourselves but I don't want to take him for long rides because he sweats to much and where I am, by the time night comes it gets pretty cold, like almost -5 sometimes and I don't want him sick :( so any advice would be appreciated!

Thank you for your advice!

Rearing on command is a very bad idea, especially if your just doing it for the heck of it. Show horses (the ones preform regularly as festivals and what not) have a specific routine to preform. They don't just pop up wily nilly, it's apart of the script and they only do it when the scripted time comes.

Cut way back on the food. No more grain, only a good quality grass hay and if he's on pasture, a grazing muzzle. Start working him 5 minuets a day for a week, then 10 minuets for a week, up to an hour a day. I'd work him at an hour per day for at least two weeks before upping the workload. Once he's in shape I'd look for a weight-watching grain such as Strategy Healthy Edge. It's formulated for easy keepers so they don't have excess weight gain.

Ok, sorry for the novel... First I didn't want to reply to this topic at all because it's every day that I read "pls how do I teach my horse to rear it's so cool" but I guess I'm just too concerned (or bored?) not to.

I bought a horse that had been taught to rear under saddle. You do NOT want to ride such a horse. It took over a year of not reminding him of it and smacking him for doing it for him to "forget" it and now he doesn't (luckily) do it anymore. Once you show a horse how to do it and praise him for it - he will get crazy about doing it for two reasons - first he will want to make you happy by showing you what he has learned and secondly he will just find the idea of rearing so cool that he will simply like doing it. I'm not even talking about the times the horse actually doesn't agree with you about something because then the rearing is the first thing he does because since he now knows it why wouldn't he use it. It took my horse a few smacks to show him I'm not as crazy as his previous "trainer" and I really do not desire him to show me what she taught him. I know everybody is always thinking "but he will be doing it ONLY on command" - trust me, he won't be doing it ONLY on command.

My friend has a mare that has been taught to paw at the ground and there isn't a day she would be digging holes into the ground now. She does it in her stall, in the paddock, undder the saddle (in those 10 seoncods my friend stops her for to adjust the girth or stirrups) and it is VERY annoying - now tell me, how would you deal with such a horse? How do you now teach him NOT to do it? I don't recall a single person that would be able to unteach a horse cribbing. It's the same bad habit. Now I WAS thinking of teaching my horse rearing from the ground but I quickly erased that idea from my mind when I first started teaching him the spanish walk - once he understood what I want him to do he wouldn't stop striking his legs high up in the air all the time. He did it EVERYTIME he saw me. I don't know if he did it for the "good boy" and nice pat on the neck I always gave him afterwards but the second he would see me coming to the stable he would start striking his legs up in the air with the "mom look what I has learned!" look on his face. You can't blame him for that but reteaching him to show him I only want him to do this ON COMMAND is one hella difficult thing. And it's only a spanish walk... I wouldn't want to be dealing with a horse that has been taught to rear (search through this forum for the tons of desperate people asking for help because they can't stop their horse from rearing). Never.

But since you asked and I can't really stop you from teaching your horse to rear if you have already decided you ARE going to teach him to rear, this is how my horse had been taught to do it - both legs behind the girth, pull on the reins and whistle. Now imagine you're passing some people during your lovely Sunday trail ride and one of them suddenly whistles...

Note: I'm not talking about the show stallions here. Those horses' routine is to do it at very specific times in very specific circumstances and not anytime somebody comes into the stable and decides they'll show their friends what their horse can do. Also show horses tend to have very specific training I don't feel like going into...

About the second question - wisping dries up a horse quite effectively and there are also many blankets specially made to put on a sweaty horse to dry him up so he doesn't get cold. I has one and it works well.

Depending on your location I may disagree on the no grain idea. In New England where I live we are a selenium deficient area, and the horses here need the grain for the vitmains and minerals. I would get a low fat/low carb grain. And cut back on the hay/pasture. Also lots of slow work. Long slow walks at first, even loungeing. Start slow if he is not used to the exersize, 5-10 twice a week, and work up. This is how I got my obese rocky back into shape.

As for the rearing, I have a friend whom has now passed that trained and showed trick horses. Rearing was the LAST trick she ever taught a horse.

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